In Ginny's Eyes
by mugglelady
Summary: Ron and Hermione's relationship as seen through Ginny's eyes.
1. First Impressions

_**In Ginny's Eyes**_

Ginny Weasley was always very perceptive. Living as the only daughter with six very boisterous and sneaky older brothers, she learned at a young age how to watch out for herself by watching others. So when the youngest of her brothers returned from his first year at Hogwarts, she began to pay very close attention to him. At first, it was because one of his best friends was none other than _the_ Harry Potter. However, as the weeks passed, she noticed how his voice seemed to quiver with excitement and his cheeks turned a slight pink color whenever he mentioned his other best friend, one Hermione Granger.

When she started at Hogwarts the next year, she was surprised to see just how Ron and Hermione actually interacted. She expected Hermione to be loud and tomboyish and more prone to playing pranks like the twins. She actually met a young girl much like any other with bushy brown hair and large front teeth but who loved to study and could usually be found in the library or the Gryffindor common room helping Ron and Harry with their homework. However, Hermione could be loud - she and Ron were often engaged in blazing rows that could clear a room within seconds. How could this be the same girl Ron spent his summer gushing over? From the looks of it, they despised each other.

The years went on, and Ginny continued to watch Ron and Hermione. Her second year was accompanied by constant bickering and one big fight which resulted in their not talking for weeks. In her third year, the Yule Ball fiasco proved to be a turning point. She could have hexed Ron for being so unobservant. Hermione had always been, in fact, a girl, and it was obvious to everyone but her dear brother that Hermione's first choice for the ball was, in fact, Ron.

Her fourth year went on without much of a hitch. Ron even went as far as to get Hermione a bottle of perfume for Christmas (albeit one with a very unusual scent). Ginny supposed this was Ron's way of letting Hermione know that he thought of her as a girl and not just one of the guys. She watched Hermione the days after Christmas for signs and concluded that Hermione took this gesture as proof that Ron was finally maturing. However, he would have to mature even more before she would take things past the friend zone.


	2. Waiting and Wanting

_**In Ginny's Eyes**_

Ginny spent most of her fifth year in a state of confusion. At first, she was sure her brother and his friend were making progress. They still bickered. (Would they be Ron and Hermione if they didn't?) However, after Hermione asked him to Slughorn's Christmas party, they were overly nice to each other. The suspense was killing Ginny!

Then, Ron had to go off and snog that insufferable Lavender Brown…and all because Ginny couldn't keep her big mouth shut! She didn't really know if Hermione had snogged Victor Krum. She just said it so Ron would stop being a prat and talk to Hermione about it. Leave it to Ron to do the unthinkable instead. Of course, Ginny was there for Hermione – and Harry too – but this was one problem that would not go away until Ron fixed it.

When she started dating Harry, Ginny began to watch Ron and Hermione more closely than ever. When Ron lay unconscious in the hospital wing, Hermione sat by his bed for hours without saying a word. If her heart had been broken because of Lavender, it was surely now wrenched open and torn from her chest. Things started to look up a little when Ginny thought (could have sworn even) that he said Hermione's name in his sleep.

Then, Ron finally managed to get rid of Lavender, but Hermione wasn't going to let him off easily by running into his arms. Ginny began to wonder how they each thought the other felt. She tried to talk to Ron about it, but he told her to mind her own business. When she tried to talk to Hermione, the bookworm ran to hide in the library. Ginny even tried to talk to Harry, but Harry said things would happen in their own time. It appeared that everyone was waiting for Ron and Hermione to get the point, but no one wanted to do anything about it.

Dumbledore's funeral was a breakthrough event. Ron held Hermione close to him while she cried on his shoulder. They touched so lovingly Ginny was sure they would announce their coupling any day. She couldn't dwell on this long because Harry broke up with her that day. Now, _her_ heart was broken. She didn't agree with him, but she understood. She would wait…for him, not for Ron and Hermione.


	3. Progress Interrupted

_**In Ginny's Eyes**_

For the first part of the summer, she followed Ron around in between wedding duties to badger him about his feelings. It was amazing how he could let his emotions take control of him so easily, but he kept the Hermione door tightly closed, locked, and sealed. Fred and George had hinted to her that their birthday present to him would help the situation, but they never revealed what that present was. The way Ron was locked in his room, some might think he was brewing a love potion, but Ginny knew he had had enough of those.

The night The Order was to retrieve Harry from the Dursley's for the last time, Ginny stood beside Hermione as she waited for Ron to return. When he finally did, Ginny watched her friend run to him. The look on her face was of pure relief, pride, and love. Ron looked somewhat surprised but happy nonetheless.

Ginny was not able to watch them too closely from this point to the wedding because her mum was intent on keeping the trio apart as much as possible, and when they did manage to be together, they were holed up in Ron's attic room. Hermione was a vision at Bill and Fleur's wedding. Ginny was glad that Ron noticed immediately this time. He was a little forceful once Krum showed up, but Hermione didn't look as if she minded. Ginny watched them dancing to their own rhythm, eyes locked on each other and laughing. She smiled to herself, wondering what they would be like at their own wedding. Suddenly, Kingsley's patronus showed up and tore everyone's world apart. Ginny didn't see Ron, Hermione, or Harry for nine months.


	4. At World's End

_**In Ginny's Eyes**_

When they appeared out of nowhere at Hogwarts, Ginny at once noticed a fierceness in Ron's eyes that she had never seen before. His gaze – and his body - did not stray from Hermione for more than a few seconds at a time. She knew then that Ron was truly in love with her, and he would do whatever it took to keep her safe. This scared Ginny because she was afraid to lose a brother.

But she did lose a brother. When the family stood and kneeled next to Fred's body, Hermione tried to sneak away, but Ron held her back. Did she not think she belonged? Did she not realize that she was an integral part of the family, too? Her and Ron held hands and cried together, occasionally whispering to each other and planting light kisses on a cheek or forehead. Despite it all, this gave Ginny a little comfort. Dumbledore, and thus Harry, always said the world needed more love.

The fight broke out again, and Ginny saw Ron fighting Fenrir Greyback. Hermione was dueling Bellatrix Lestrange. Both of them kept stealing glances to make sure the other was alright, which made them easier targets. Ginny yelled for Dean to help her brother while she helped Hermione take on Bellatrix. The mad woman said something about 'the only mudblood who got away,' and Hermione's rage exploded. However, even with the two of them working together against her, Bellatrix was still at an advantage. When Ginny's mum jumped in between her daughters and Bellatrix, Ginny saw that Hermione was torn between continuing to help and running to Ron's side. There was no need in the end; Dean and Ron took Greyback down, and Ginny's mum killed the nasty witch.

It was if Hogwarts had exploded. Ginny watched the ordeal in slow motion. Harry had defeated Voldemort, and the winning side was celebrating within seconds. Everyone wanted to be near the young hero, but Ron and Hermione got there first. At the feast that followed, Ginny kept her eyes glued to her brother for the most part. It was better to watch love than dwell on grief for the time being.

Ron and Hermione sat side by side, and they rarely took their eyes from the other. Ginny glanced under the table at one point and noticed their feet tangled together. It made her smile. When they rose suddenly and walked out of the hall hand in hand, Ginny knew they were following Harry in his invisibility cloak. She also knew that the Golden Trio needed to be alone.


	5. A New Connection

_**In Ginny's Eyes**_

The morning after the Final Battle, Ginny looked for Hermione in the girls' dormitory, but she wasn't there. She figured Hermione was either in the common room, in the Great Hall, or helping with some repairs in the castle. However, when she entered the boys' dormitory to find Harry, she found the youngest of her brothers curled up in his bed with her bushy-haired friend.

A part of Ginny wanted to wake Ron up and scold him for leaving the curtains wide open – her mum could have found them. The bigger part, though, closed the curtains around them and stood deciding what to do about Harry. It was then that she heard a rustling in her brother's bed. She left before anyone caught and questioned her.

Ginny didn't get another chance to watch until a few days later. It was the day after Fred's funeral, and everyone sat around the sitting room fire place. Her mum and dad were looking at old photographs of their children, Bill and Fleur were curled up on the loveseat whispering, Charlie and Percy sat drinking firewhiskey with George who stared absentmindedly at her mum's clock, Ginny watched Ron and Harry play wizard's chess, and Hermione sat in an armchair reading a book. One by one the Weasleys stood to go to their respective rooms.

When it was just Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione left, Harry proceeded to try to get Ginny to go upstairs with him. He insisted that Ron and Hermione needed to talk, but Ginny knew better. She saw the way her brother and his girlfriend looked at each other. They had developed a connection she did not quite understand.

Since first finding Ron and Hermione in bed together, Ginny had her suspicions. The first night at the Burrow, she awoke suddenly to find Hermione sneaking out of their room. The next morning, her mum found her and Ron together and proceeded to throw a fit. Ron said something to her before she burst into tears, hugged Hermione, and was back to normal – as normal as to be expected – by breakfast. Whatever Ron told her had changed something, but when Ginny confronted Harry about it, he merely said it was Hermione's story to tell.

The next few days signaled what was to come in future years. Ron and Hermione seemed to be super aware of each other, always physically linked in some way, or if that was not possible, always followed closely with a gaze. Their arguments, while notoriously severe by Gryffindor standards, were now tame and settled instead with calm discussions and compromises. Ginny was witnessing her brother's maturing before her very eyes, and she saw Hermione start to admit when she was wrong. Ginny would always remember Ron's first summer back from Hogwarts with tales of his best friends, and she would always cherish the years that followed. Ron and Hermione had always given into raw emotion and worn their hearts on their sleeves, but Ginny watched as they finally succumbed to the right emotion – love.


End file.
